The explosive ball-carrying prop could soon be lost to Wales as fears emergeRhys Carre won his last cap for Wales against England in the 2023 Six Nations(Image: © Huw Evans Picture Agency)

In the lead up to last weekend’s Gallagher Prem fixtures, most Welsh fans would have scanned both teams at the Stone X Stadium and concluded it was worth watching to see Louis Rees-Zammit in action.

While Rees-Zammit is certainly worth investing time in, arguably the most intriguing player involved in Saracens’ 50-17 annihilation of Bristol Bears was loosehead prop Rhys Carre.

The Saracens man was outstanding throughout and the Bears defence had very little answer to the 27-year-old’s explosive power.

He is a part of one of the most professional and ruthless environments in Northern Hemisphere club rugby and is a significantly better player than the one which left Wales in 2024. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby.

At one stage, Carre smashed his way through heavy traffic, brushing Bristol outside-half Tom Jordan to one side as if he were a rag doll.

“I think they used to say that’s 20 stone on the hoof,” said former England prop David Flatman in the TNT Sports commentary team.

“He left 20 stone behind about a decade ago.

“That’s about 23 stone on the hoof and he can move.

“That is very very powerful.

“Rhys Carre, despite his size, I would say as a prop forward he is selected for his work on the ball.

“He can scrummage and his scrummaging is getting better and better and better.”

Flatman has just described exactly the type of forward Wales have been missing of late.

Carre has already won 20 caps for his country, but the former Cardiff man was controversially kicked out of Wales’ Rugby World Cup training squad in 2023 by Warren Gatland because he “failed to meet individual performance targets”.

Gatland was always a coach who set high standards, especially when it came to fitness, and he was within his rights to make that call at the time.

But Wales currently lack big explosive carriers who can smash into heavy traffic yet still make significant post-contact metres. Join WalesOnline Rugby’s WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free

That is a dimension Carre could offer this Wales squad.

Sure, there are other areas of his game which need to be worked on with Flatman also stating in commentary that scrummaging wasn’t Carre’s biggest strength because he is so big.

But the fact remains he has a big point of difference and could potentially thrive on the international circuit.

Yes, he isn’t as strong a scrummager as Nicky Smith or Gareth Thomas, but as long as that aspect of his game is passable and that his conditioning is up to Test standard then his explosive carrying is something the Wales coaching team could harness.

Imagine Carre coming off the replacements’ bench with 20 minutes to go, running at tired defenders and getting over the gainline.

Of course, there is one pretty sizable barrier to any Wales recall.

Carre is captured by the Professional Rugby Board’s controversial 25-cap law.

The law is in place to persuade the majority of Welsh-qualified players to remain at one of Wales’ four professional clubs – Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets.

But it mainly exists to ensure the national coach has as much preparation time as possible with his squad ahead of every campaign.

Players based in England and France miss the training camp leading up to a Six Nations campaign and have to go back to their clubs on a fallow weekend.

This is not ideal preparation and has been pointed out by the likes of Wayne Pivac and Matt Sherratt in recent years. Get the latest breaking Welsh rugby news stories sent straight to your inbox with our FREE daily newsletter. Sign up here.

So, it is important to point out the cap law does serve a purpose, but it could also cost Wales an unique talent.

But with Carre’s Saracens contract up at the end of this season, Steve Tandy should be pushing for his return to Wales.

Of course, this is complicated by the fact we do not know what professional rugby in Wales will look like for the 2026/27 season or how many teams there will be.

Whatever the structure looks like, Carre should be a prime target for a return home.

But what should be of grave concern to both Tandy and the Welsh Rugby Union is the fact he will soon be eligible to represent England, Ireland and Scotland courtesy of his grandfather who hails from Guernsey.

As a dependency of the Crown outside of the United Kingdom, people from the Channel Islands are free to choose whichever home nation they like to represent.

Carre won his last cap for Wales against England in the 2023 Six Nations.

World Rugby’s Regulation 8 states that, for a player to play for another country, “at least three years have passed since the Player last represented their former Union”.

This means Carre will be free to switch allegiances midway through the 2026 Six Nations.

He has been heavily linked with a move to Irish giants Munster and were he to represent Ireland that would be a bitter pill for the WRU to swallow.

But who could blame him if he was to go down that route because it is a short career and he must surely be keen for another shot at Test rugby.

Wales simply cannot afford to lose players like Carre.

The WRU must act—before it’s too late.